Just asking for a general opinion: if you were ordering a tire/wheel package from TireRack or Discount Tire, would you

1) have them mounted and balanced prior to shipping, and put them on yourself

or

2) have the tires and wheels shipped to a local shop you trust and have them mount and balance the tires for you

I'm just curious as to what others have done. Not bashing or questioning Tire Rack in any way, just looking for options.

 

i think tire rack is reliable enough, but what are you more comfortable with?

 

we probably mount and balance 100 times as many wheels and tires than your local guy so, we are pretty good at it ...

we won't charge you anything for that serivce

we also perform a load force variation test on every wheel and tire combo which is also no charge

it's less expensive to ship the wheels and tire already mounted in most cases

if we happen to damage your wheel in the process we will just pull another out of stock and make sure all four are free of any type of damage when they are shipped to you

but, in the end it's your money

 

i work at a shop and i have seen th e work t/r has done and have been impressed.in some aps. the weights can interfere with the brakes but thats rare to see,and for the whole package t/r isn't a bad way to go.

 

I said I wasn't questioning the quality of T/R's work, I just wanted to see what path some of the others have followed. There's really no reason to get defensive!

The reason I'm considering having them mounted at a shop rather than by T/R is because I have to go to the shop anyway to get the tires stripped off my stock wheels (they are too badly worn to sell) and because the little old ladies in my condo complex may literally fine me for working on my car on the grounds of my complex -- no, I'm not kidding about that, sadly. I was also going to have my transmission fluid changed and radiator flushed, so I could kill all those birds with one stone. I'm glad to hear that T/R's reputation is solid, and I am buying my tires/wheels from them regardless of whether they are the ones that mount them or not -- I just wanted to hear some pros/cons.

 

The more work they do the more they will charge you. Have the shop dismount your old wheels & tires & do the coolant flush & fluid swap & just ask them to mount you new wheels & tires on to your car. It almost seems like you are asking to pay for something twice...

 

You must have missed the part where Luke from TireRack said...

"we won't charge you anything for that serivce" (meaning mount and balance)...

I'd only be paying for it once, not twice

 

No, you'd be paying twice: the price of the service that is included w/ your purchase of the wheels and the tires and again at the shop.

Either way good luck.

 

Well, the shop quoted me $190 a tire + $10 mount and balance; TireRack does the same for $160 even -- so I'm saving so much by going with TireRack that the mount and balance is effectively free. So I'm having the tires shipped to the shop and just have them put on there, and have them flush my radiator (going to go for 70% water + some Water Wetter, 100-degree days are coming soon) and check my alignment. Might as well kill off as many small things as I can, seeing as they charge by the hour for labor... gotta fill that hour up to the last minute!